Is Natural or Organic Essential for the Best Baby Skincare Products?

You want the best for your baby, and probably research lots of small type on small bottles to get there – let Baby By Sia help you consider this area of Baby skincare. Let’s look at natural and organic baby care in a bit more detail to see whether or not they rate in the best baby skincare products.

What does Natural mean in relation to Baby Skin Care?

Webster Dictionary defines “natural” as “not artificial, synthetic, [or] acquired by external means,” which rules out most products created in a production line system. Baby products have to last on the shelf, keep their consistency in a variety of extreme conditions, and not change their visible look when exposed to air.

As reported in Strong Voices, the newsletter of the Breast Cancer Fund, “Approximately one-third of cosmetics and bodycare companies position their products as natural in one way or another . . . But, as you might expect, some companies are more natural than others.” (Volume 7, Summer 2005).

What does Organic mean in relation to Baby Skin Care?

Organic means nothing at all in relation to skin care products – are you shocked? I was when I read that the term “organic”, which in everyday terms is defined as “no petrochemical ingredients, free from pesticides and synthetic/toxic ingredients”, is not a law-enforced Australian standard. Unless they are certified, the main cleansing ingredients and preservatives in organic personal care products are usually made with synthetic and petrochemical compounds.

Is natural or organic better than synthetic?

That depends on what is being marketed, and by whom. There are good and bad ingredients in each category, but both terms are very much owned by the companies who market natural and organic products: almost a point of differentiation, you might say. Looking at the well-known global brands like J&J, it pays to read non-corporate advice (blogs) in order to decipher the ingredients languages on their products. See below for the New York Times diagram on what has changed, ingredient-wise, with their baby shampoo.

J&J baby shampoo and toxic talc

Britta Aragon writes that in 2013, in response to consumer demand, Johnson & Johnson removed “many chemicals from their baby products, including formaldehyde, parabens, triclosan, and phthalates (while continuing to use parabens in adult products)”.

This is great news, but their no-more-formaldehyde-baby shampoo, “as gentle to the eyes as pure water”, is but one product variant in the same J&J family as another bathroom product, talcum powder, which SMH recently reported was the subject of a $100 million payout awarded to an American woman who died from ovarian cancer.

By the way, J&J have also owned the natural skin care company, Aveeno, since 1999. It pays to do research on natural and organic skin care and baby skin care!

Before you panic…

There are many resources available for you to research Babycare safety and ingredients, but it is easier to read blogs compared to some of the information I found!

The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) regulates cosmetics sold in Australia, and they assess chemicals and concerns to do with compliance. Products must always list the ingredients on or near packaging to help you make a decision, but what if a product is labelled natural or organic, and you still aren’t sure about whether it is good for Baby?

Product Safety Guides in Australia

While researching for this article I came across the Product Safety Australia website. This is the key Government body that regulates most if not all baby skincare and products in our sunny country. Thought you might like to watch some of theirvideos or read the ebook, Keeping Baby Safe.*

*We consider Baby’s safety a No. 1 top priority in all our Baby By Sia products, treatments and information.

Who is Baby By Sia?

Founded by a mum of two, Sia Hendry, who has 15 years of experience and knowledge in the skin care industry, the Baby By Sia range was created as a safe alternative to the many mass-produced baby care products on the shelves that contain many chemicals and additives that are harmful to soft skin.

A Naturally Gentle Solution

Our product range is NOT organic or completely natural, but uses naturally gentle ingredients, contains NO nasties, chemical preservatives, not tested on animals or contains animal byproducts. It is a preventative skincare routine and can assist with most skin reactions or irritations.

No Nasties Baby Skin Care that Works Preventatively

Now that you are armed with the info you need to understand natural or organic descriptions on ingredient lists, relax and read our baby skincare products – you won’t find formaldehyde in any of our products!

As always, Baby By Sia is happy to help, provide support and effective products and solutions for Mums, Dads and babies.